Chapter 11 Chapter 11 So, she must love him.

He touched the bruise under his forehead, and a slight tenderness came up, making the corners of his mouth slightly rise.

Gu Shi could be considered to know Qin Sizhao, this year's top scholar. Many people were vying to meet him, but he had no other impression of him.

There is no doubt that Lingchuan loves him.

He remembered that when Lingchuan had just arrived at the palace, he wanted to see her dance gracefully, so he invited a dancer to teach her how to dance.

I don’t know whether Lingchuan was born with stiff muscles or the dancer was torturing her on purpose, but the progress was not smooth and I could always hear her screaming because of the torn muscles.

To his surprise, even though he gave Lingchuan the power to deal with the dancer at will, she did not cause any trouble to the dancer. He thought she was a little rabbit who would accept everything.

Lingchuan has been training for more than a month, and his flexibility is still very poor, but his legs have gained a lot of strength.

Finally, with red eyes and a fierce look, she walked towards him and kicked him hard on the knee, and the matter was finally over.

This was the first time he truly got to know Lingchuan.

He didn't know why he let her rudeness go so easily and didn't punish her at all.

The reality of his helplessness cannot make him realize their true existence, but Lingchuan can, and she always can.

That was the first time Gu Shi felt connected to the world. All the lack, discomfort, and lack of reality disappeared in an instant.

Everything will wither, but Lingchuan's love for him will not.

If she didn't love him, why did she keep reminding him how vividly she existed in this world? Why did she keep pulling him back from the brink of sensory imbalance?

Therefore, she must love him.

It was just that a girl who was not good at needlework gave Qin Sizhao a similar purse.

But her lukewarm attitude towards him made him suspicious again. Behind everyone's back, he secretly took out the sachet embroidered by Lingchuan from his sleeve and took a look at it.

But after reading it, he felt that the patterns were more and more similar.

Suspicion hung over him like a dark cloud.

He pressed hard on the bruise Lingchuan gave him, trying to relieve some of the anxiety.

Gu Shi wanted to find an excuse to take another look at Qin Sizhao's purse, but then he thought it was a little ridiculous.

He is a prince, and Qin Sizhao is the new top scholar. When he goes to talk to him, instead of discussing state affairs, he gets entangled in a purse given by a little woman?

It's really embarrassing.

But if he didn't go to look at the purse, he felt that the two mandarin ducks had turned into crows, making shrill cries in his mind, making him restless.

After leaving the court, he invited Qin Sizhao to the tea room for tea with a fake smile, and talked about a lot of serious matters to cover up.

After thinking about it, he finally couldn't help but speak out due to his anxiety.

"Young brother, you are the new top scholar. I'm sure there are many noble families who want to marry you. Do you have someone in mind?"

He said it casually, just as a daily greeting, so there must be no flaws.

Qin Sizhao nodded and smiled.

"I do have a crush on someone, but she's not some noble lady from a wealthy family. She's just my childhood sweetheart."

Gu Shi breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt ridiculous.

Qin Sizhao and Lingchuan are two people who have nothing in common, but he used such absurd delusion to forcibly connect them together. It's really crazy.

I was so anxious for a long time because of an insignificant shabby purse. If others knew about this, they would laugh at me to death.

He began to feel irritated and started to hate himself for being so anxious and worried about little things that were just hearsay.

Even if the purse was really given by Lingchuan, so what? She can go find whoever she wants. It's a good opportunity to break up with her and have some peace and quiet.

If he continued to keep her by his side, he would only become a distracted lunatic.

He didn't want to be manipulated by her hot and cold behavior for the rest of his life.

After getting the information he wanted, Gu Shi smiled fakely, chatted about some family matters, and then went home.

To be honest, there is no sign of madness in Gu Shi's appearance. He is tall, with broad shoulders and long legs, handsome and decent.

But such a decent face actually showed an anxious and fragile look because of Lingchuan.

He hates this.

Because Lingchuan was the one who made him distracted, he also hated Lingchuan.

He pushed her door open forcefully. Lingchuan looked inexplicably simpler. There were a few dishes on the table, the same kind of things you would find on an ordinary table, and a plate of sour apricot preserves.

He ate one casually and it was so sour that it made his teeth hurt.

"Is this all you eat?"

"The prince has told me to save some money recently, so I can't be too extravagant."

He felt that Lingchuan was indescribably weird.

It is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. In order to control Lingchuan, he deliberately indulged her vain and extravagant habits, but it seems to have no effect at the moment.

"Why don't you even put on makeup?"

Her face was a little pale, with bruises and two shallow tear troughs under her eyes, which made her eyes look a little sinister, less beautiful, and added a cold and sharp look.

"I don't have anyone important to see, so why should I put on makeup? Is it indigo that's free, or is it rouge that's free?"

He looked at the woman in front of him who had made him distracted with disgust, and wondered why he couldn't get rid of her?

She was like a female ghost, tightly wrapping her thick and dense hair around his heart, causing his heartbeat to become irregular.

"Lingchuan, I can't afford much dowry right now, so you should think about where you're going in the future."

He deliberately humiliated her and wanted her to feel that she could not get married without his money.

Lingchuan was very calm, drank another sip of soup, and asked Jinzhan to clean up the mess on the table before replying to Gu Shi.

"In my situation, if I get married, wouldn't that be a disservice to the other person? Let's talk about it later."

"But you'll be twenty next month. If you wait any longer, it might be difficult for you to get married."

"Don't worry, if fate comes, it can't be stopped."

She lowered her head with a slight smile on her lips. She wanted to see Qin Sizhao on her birthday.

Lingchuan was wondering whether she should tell Qin Sizhao about her pregnancy. She wanted to test whether he was worthy of her giving up everything for him.

If it were an ordinary man, it would be normal for him to be furious and unwilling to accept it after learning about this. However, such a mediocre man is only worthy of ordinary admiration.

What she wants to give is the kind of love that gives everything, a love that an ordinary man cannot afford.

Mediocrity is human nature. If he is really just a mediocre man, he is also a mediocre man with kindness in his heart. She can't bear to blame him for anything. She just lets each other go and keeps silent about it.

She hoped that Gu Shi would leave quickly so that she could see Qin Sizhao again.

Lingchuan not only did not get angry, but lowered his head and smiled. Gu Shi felt his scalp tingling when he saw this, and had a vague sense of foreboding.

He reached out to touch her face. She didn't avoid him, nor did she try to get close to him. But the smile on her face gradually cooled.

"Who were you thinking of when you laughed like that just now?"

Gu Shi's hands became a little stronger.

He was not jealous, and he would not be jealous just because Lingchuan smiled at the thought of someone else. That would be too stupid.

He just couldn't accept that there was something unknown about her, and he should control everything about her. Lingchuan could even marry someone else, but it had to be within his control.

"I wasn't thinking of anyone, I was just thinking of the storybook I read today."

Lingchuan made up an excuse to get away with it.

"I've been busy with government affairs lately and have to travel around a lot, so I can't take care of your marriage."

This is not false. Gu Shi has indeed been very busy with political affairs recently.

But when he said this, he also meant to test Lingchuan's reaction.

Lingchuan just smiled faintly and said:

"It's okay, Your Highness, please take care of your business first. Let's put my marriage aside for now. It's okay."

Although Gu Shi felt a little disappointed, he really couldn't find any fault with Lingchuan.

He looked at her with scrutinizing eyes. She looked very indifferent and didn't seem to be in a hurry to get married. Did she think that if she dragged it on, he would definitely compromise with her and become at her mercy?

Or did she think that once she ascended the throne, she would be able to take her into the harem as a concubine and let her enjoy a peaceful life there? But she certainly wouldn't be satisfied with just a concubine position.

Gu Shi shook his head in his heart. He really couldn't imagine Lingchuan bowing to him respectfully like a dummy. Just thinking about it made him feel physically uncomfortable.

Besides, he didn't even know who his biological father was. Being able to barely have the surname Gu was already giving enough face to the royal family. What was the need to have many children and expand his harem?

He looked closely into her eyes, trying to guess what she was thinking.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, the general's servant has arrived and says the general is waiting outside and wants to see you."

Jinzhan thought this was an important matter, so she hurried in to report it. Gu Shi nodded to show that he understood.

He thought that the general came only to ask him to purchase a large amount of food and fodder. Now that the initiative was in his hands, he went out to meet the guest calmly.

If the food supply is cut off, it would be equivalent to killing 100,000 soldiers.

No matter how much the general loved Yang Ruoyun, Yang Ruoyun alone could not compare to the matter of food and fodder for a hundred thousand troops. Controlling the food and fodder was more important than marrying the general's daughter.

Jinzhan was quick-witted and locked Lingchuan in the house to prevent her from going out and causing trouble.

Lingchuan smiled bitterly. She knew Jinzhan's good intentions and was afraid that she would cause more trouble for the palace.

"Miss, please don't be anxious. I heard that Miss Ruoyun seems to have a lover and may not marry the prince."

Jinzhan tried to comfort her, but Lingchuan just smiled bitterly. How could she not know who Miss Ruoyun's lover was?

"Forget it. If it's mine, it's still mine no matter who comes to fight for it. If it can be easily snatched away by others, then what's the point of me coming here?"

Lingchuan said in a low voice.

Although that's what he said, and it makes sense, Lingchuan still couldn't help feeling uneasy, fearing that Qin Sizhao might change his mind.